Armed Forces: Aircraft

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of the United States and the Joint Strike Fighter prime contractor about (a) structural and propulsion design flaws for the F-35B version, (b) the impact of them on weight and costs, and (c) the possibility of the entire programme being cancelled.

Lord Astor of Hever: The UK has been briefed on difficulties discovered during development test associated with the F-35B structure and Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) propulsion systems and also on the design changes which have been processed to fix these issues during the development phase. The UK remains confident in the US programme leadership and the prime contractor in its ability to deliver these whilst maintaining capability and affordability. As our contribution to the JSF development programme is fixed under the 2001 memorandum of understanding there will be no direct development cost implications from these changes to the UK.
	While we will continue to swatch closely the development of F-35B short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant and will seek to ensure that we gain the benefits of our early investment in F-35B STOVL aircraft for test and evaluation, our decision announced in the strategic defence and security review to change variant to the more capable F35C carrier variant (CV) for operational use has not been influenced by these development issues. Both the F35C CV and F35A conventional take-off and landing variants are performing as expected during test and have not experienced the same technical issues as the F35B STOVL. We have held no discussions with the US on the possibility of the entire programme being cancelled.

Armed Forces: Aircraft

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the event of the cancellation of the Joint Strike Fighter F-35B variant, how much public money will have been committed to it; and what refunds they would expect.

Lord Astor of Hever: As the Prime Minister made clear in his Statement on the strategic defence and security review on 19 October 2010, we plan to procure the carrier variant Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), the F-35C. While we are committed to procuring three F-35B aircraft, at a total of $632 million, to conduct joint test and evaluation with the US Armed Forces, we will gain substantial benefit from operating these aircraft as a part of the F-35C programme. In particular, the mission systems are common between all three JSF variants and our continued participation in joint test and evaluation is vital for the delivery of essential legal, safety and operational sovereignty requirements. The three F-35B aircraft are early phase aircraft. The final unit cost of our F-35C operational aircraft will be substantially lower.

Asylum Seekers

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many asylum applicants are awaiting decisions (a) six months, (b) one year, (c) 18 months, and (d) two years, after submitting their applications.

Baroness Neville-Jones: The attached data are published in the monthly asylum application tables available from the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html.
	This data series on the number of asylum applications lodged since April 2006 that are pending are based on the UK Border Agency's administrative database. Further work is needed to assure the quality of the earlier records before information on earlier years can be published.
	
		
			 Pending applications received for asylum since April 2006 in the United Kingdom at the end of October 2010, broken down by age of application (1) (2) (3) (P) 
			 Number of applicants 
			  Total pendingof whom:
			  Total (including dependants) of whom: principal applicants Cases less than 6 months old pending an initial decision  Cases more than 6 months old pending an initial decision  Cases pending further review, excludes persons who have not received an initial decision  
			 Month   Total (including dependants) of whom: principal applicants Total (including dependants) of whom: principal applicants Total (including dependants) of whom: principal applicants 
			 Latest monthly data provided to EUROSTAT under Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council on Community 
			 Total 15,915 12,445 3,215 2,620 4,685 3,915 8,015 5,915 
			 Of whom: 
			 Less than 6 months 6,650 5,180 3,215 2,620 .. .. 3,435 2,560 
			 Between 6 months and 1 year 1,740 1,360 .. .. 570 485 1,170 875 
			 Between 1 year and 18 months 1,405 1,080 .. .. 645 550 755 535 
			 Between 18 months and 2 years 2,190 1,740 .. .. 1,285 1,050 910 690 
			 Greater than 2 years 3,935 3,085 .. .. 2,190 1,830 1,745 1,255 
		
	
	(1) Figures rounded to the nearest 5 (- = 0, * = 1 or 2) and may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding.
	(2) For the figures which include dependants further disaggregations by age, gender and nationality will be available on the EUROSTAT website: http://epp.eurostatec.europa.eu/portal/paqe/portal/statistics/ search database
	(3) Applications received for asylum lodged since 1 April 2006 which are still under consideration at the end of the reference period. Numbers pending either initial decision or further judicial appeal, but excluding those who have lodged a judicial review
	(P) Provisional figures.
	.. Not applicable.

Banking: Bonuses

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they propose to take action in support of Sir Philip Hampton, the chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland, in tackling the "gangmaster cultural phenomenon" allegedly evident in the determination of bonuses for investment bank traders, as referred to in Britain's Banks: Too Big to Save on BBC2 on 18 January.

Lord Sassoon: The Government are addressing unacceptable remuneration practices through a combination of measures that target the structure and transparency of pay and other measures with the potential to bear down on the profits from excessive risk taking. This includes improving governance, imposing adequate capital and liquidity requirements and considering the scope to introduce greater competitive pressure over time.

Belarus

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will co-ordinate their response to actions against the political opposition in Belarus with the Government of the United States and the European Union.

Lord Howell of Guildford: I remain deeply concerned about the situation in Belarus. The UK is at the forefront of efforts within the EU and the wider international community to bring pressure to bear on the Belarusian authorities. We have been vocal in advocating a tough EU response. This includes re-imposing targeted sanctions. My right honourable friend the Minister for Europe, David Lidington, encouraged the EU High Representative Baroness Ashton to issue a strongly worded joint EU-US statement, which was released on 23 December 2010. We will continue to work closely with both our EU and US colleagues.

Consumer Spending

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to encourage consumers to spend more.

Lord Sassoon: The Government recognise that consumer spending can support the recovery in the economy in the short-term. However, it is also important that consumer spending is consistent with sustainable levels of debt and the overall rebalancing of the UK economy over the long-term.

Crime: Knife Crime

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to combat knife crime by teenagers in the United Kingdom.

Baroness Neville-Jones: Serious youth violence is a key priority for this Government. We are currently considering our future plans in this area. However, in 2010-11 we have provided £4 million to assist local partnerships in 52 participating community safety partnerships and British Transport Police in their work to tackle serious violence committed by young people and against young people.
	In addition, the Prime Minister and Home Secretary asked Brooke Kinsella, whose brother Ben was murdered two years ago, to undertake a fact-finding mission to examine schemes working in local communities to stop young people from carrying and using weapons. Ms Kinsella's report will be published shortly.
	The Home Office Community Fund programme has provided 144 small local community-based organisations with small grants of up to £10,000 each in 2010-11 to deliver projects aimed at preventing young people from engaging in gun, gang and knife crime and to steer those already involved towards more positive initiatives and activities.

Crimestoppers

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what funding will be provided to Crimestoppers in Wales in each of the next three years.

Baroness Neville-Jones: The Home Office expects to be able to notify funding decisions for Crimestoppers for 2011-12 and 2012-13 within the next two weeks.

e-Borders

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the proportion of inbound passengers to the United Kingdom who are subject to e-borders control first reached 60 per cent; and when they expect it to reach (a) 70 per cent, (b) 80 per cent and (c) 90 per cent.

Baroness Neville-Jones: Currently, around 55 per cent of inbound and 60 per cent of outbound passenger movements from the UK are being processed through e-Borders. It is expected that by the end of this Parliament both figures will have exceeded 90 per cent.
	We are currently unable to give definitive answers on when we expect to reach the intermediate percentage figures, since these are reliant on a number of factors, including EU data protection and free movement issues.
	We are currently checking over 90 per cent of non-EU aviation passengers and expect to be checking 100 per cent of non-EU aviation passengers through e-Borders by April 2012.

EU: Financial Stability

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will propose in the Council of Ministers increased take-up of European Financial Stability Facility bonds following the latest issue.

Lord Sassoon: The UK is not party to the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), which was established by euro area Finance Ministers on 9 May 2010. Responsibility for managing the EFSF rests with euro area governments.

EU: Membership

Lord Elton: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Howell of Guildford on 10 January (WA 400 and 415), what criteria they apply in deciding whether to support applications from countries for membership of the European Union; and whether the criteria include having to have established genuine freedom of worship and freedom from discrimination for all faiths in their country.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The EU treaties are clear that in order to apply for membership of the EU a European state must respect, and be committed to promote, the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. In order to open accession negotiations, a country must meet the political criterion of the Copenhagen Criteria, for example, stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities, including freedom of religion. If a country was considered not to have met the political criterion it would not be able to open accession negotiations until it had implemented the necessary reforms.

Fire Services

Lord Jopling: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have considered creating an inspectorate for the fire services; and whether they have estimated the cost of attaching such responsibility to HM Inspectorate of Constabulary.

Baroness Hanham: The Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government, announced last summer the abolition of the Audit Commission. Ministers have not considered creating an inspectorate for fire and rescue authorities, nor have we undertaken any estimation of costs.
	The Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser has been appointed as an inspector under the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. This provides powers to take action in any circumstances where Government may wish to have an investigation or assessment eg a major fire incident investigation.

Gibraltar

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Gibraltar is within the European Union; if so, whether Gibraltar is represented in the European Parliament; and whether the UK Border Agency treats Gibraltar as within the European Union.

Lord Howell of Guildford: Gibraltar is part of the UK member state as a territory for whose external relations a member state (the United Kingdom) is responsible (Article 355(3) TFEU). Whilst in principle the treaty applies to Gibraltar, certain significant provisions do not apply, including provisions on the free movement of goods, the common agricultural policy and the common fisheries policy: Gibraltarians are represented in the European Parliament. They vote in the European Parliament elections as part of the south west of England electoral region: The UK Border Agency treats Gibraltar as an overseas territory, and also within the European Union.

Health: Cancer

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government how their spending cuts will affect funding for cancer research.

Baroness Wilcox: The announcements made in the spending review recognise that science and research are critical to long term economic growth. Despite pressure on public spending, funding for science and research programmes has been protected in cash terms at £4.6 billion per annum, ring-fenced for the four years of the spending review.
	The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies through which the Government support medical and clinical research, including cancer research. The overall MRC budget has been set to ensure MRC resource expenditure is maintained in real terms. In keeping with the Haldane Principle, prioritisation of an individual research council's spending within its allocation is not a decision for Ministers. The MRC will make decisions on its priorities.
	The MRC spends approximately £105 million (2009 data) on cancer and research relevant to cancer, including strategic partnerships. Examples of recent MRC funding awards for research relating to cancer include the renewal of funding for the MRC cancer cell unit in Cambridge, which undertakes innovative interdisciplinary research in cancer biology, cancer diagnosis, and cancer therapy.

Government Departments: Staff

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Mr Andy Coulson will continue exercising his functions as No. 10 director of communications during the Crown Prosecution Service review of all the evidence in the News of the World telephone tapping case.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: I refer the noble Lord to the statement made by the Prime Minister on Friday 21 January 2011.

Immigration

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Jones on 24 January (WA 112), whether the 10 largest public sector employers follow the UK Border Agency recommendation that document checks to prove a right to work in the United Kingdom are conducted on all prospective employees, including British, Irish and European Economic Area citizens.

Baroness Neville-Jones: Public sector employers who are sponsors under tier 2 of the points-based system are subject to compliance visits. Any found to be non-compliant may face having their licence revoked. No public sector employers have been found to be non-compliant.
	All employers are expected to follow the recommendations made by the agency on document checks to prove a right to work in the United Kingdom. This expectation applies irrespective of whether or not the employer is deemed a public or private sector employer.
	Guidance documents for employers on preventing illegal working include a code of practice that helps employers to comply with the law on illegal working without discriminating against individuals on the basis of their race.
	This code of practice makes clear that to avoid discrimination, all applicants should be treated in the same way at each stage of the recruitment practice. This includes British, Irish and European Economic Area citizens.

Inflation

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the rise in inflation.

Lord Sassoon: The UK's monetary policy framework gives operational responsibility for maintaining price stability to the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England. The Government confirmed in the June Budget that the MPC will continue to target 2 per cent inflation, as measured by the 12-month increase in the consumer prices index. The MPC's view is that inflation is likely to fall back to target during 2012.

Israel

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent representations they have made to the Government of Israel about the three MPs from east Jerusalem who have been threatened with deportation from east Jerusalem and have taken refuge in the Red Cross in east Jerusalem for 200 days; and what progress has been made following any such representations.

Lord Howell of Guildford: I refer the noble Baroness to my response of 21 January 2011 (Official Report, col. WA 76).
	"The Government are concerned about the potential political deportations. Forcible transfer of people out of the city for political reasons is illegal under international humanitarian law.
	The EU has raised these cases with the Israeli Government, making its views clear. Our embassy in Tel Aviv has also raised these cases with Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon. The UK was part of a joint European delegation that attended the Supreme Court hearing on the case of Mr Muhammed Abu Teir".
	I can confirm that the Israeli authorities released Mr Abu Teir and expelled him to the West Bank on 8 December. Regarding Mahmoud al-Rahmi, we do not expect any further movement on this case until 9 May when his administrative detention is up for renewal.

Israel: Trade

Lord Clinton-Davis: To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with the Government of Israel and with representatives of businesses there about how each country could benefit economically from trade with each other.

Baroness Wilcox: The Government have recently focused on three initiatives to identify benefits from and exploit the UK/Israel trade relationship more fully:
	First, the Government have assisted the British Israel Chamber of Commerce to establish a high tech committee and launch a high tech initiative which HMG have co-designed. The initiative puts leading British tech entrepreneurs in charge of developing strategies in three specific subsectors.
	Secondly, allied to the chamber's high tech initiative, the Government are hosting a round table at the end of January 2011 on building a UK/Israel high tech partnership involving British tech entrepreneurs and their Israeli counterparts. Together, they will aim to identify the potential synergies between the UK and Israeli high tech economies, discuss how to encourage more Israeli companies to look to UK for business partnerships, and establish how to increase the number of British companies doing business with Israel.
	Thirdly, the Government have launched an initiative to strengthen UK/Israel scientific links. This is an important underpinning to a stronger high-tech partnership. It is focused on the life sciences, where both Britain and Israel have immense strengths. It was launched by the Foreign Secretary during his visit to Israel in November 2010 and a new UK/Israel Life Sciences Council will have had its first meeting in Jerusalem on 25 January, bringing together top scientists from both sides to identify specific fields in the life sciences where Britain and Israel are both strong and therefore provide a focus for collaboration.

Justice: Sentencing

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the use of intensive community punishment as a replacement for prison sentences.

Lord McNally: Seven areas are running pilots to test an intensive community order targeting offenders likely to be sentenced to short-term custody. The National Offender Management Service has commissioned research including analysis exploring the feasibility of evaluating the schemes' impact on reoffending.

Kosovo

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the European Union Rule of Law Mission is able to assist in reducing the backlog of court cases in Kosovo.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The EU Rule of Law Mission (EULEX) actively assists the Kosovan authorities with reducing the backlog of cases in Kosovo. It has its own executive mandate to take action on outstanding court cases with a focus on the most complex or serious ones (for example: war crimes, high profile organised crime and corruption cases, terrorism, inter-ethnic crimes, financial/economic crimes). In doing so, EULEX judges work together with their local counterparts in mixed panels or mixed teams, ensuring that such cases are properly investigated, prosecuted, adjudicated and enforced, according to the applicable law. EULEX judges serve both at the level of the supreme court and at the level of district courts in Kosovo.
	The EULEX judges also have a monitoring, mentoring and advising (MMA) function. In this capacity, they assist Kosovo judicial authorities in their progress towards sustainability and accountability and in further developing and strengthening an independent multi-ethnic justice system, adhering to internationally recognised standards and European best practice.

Local Government: Cost Savings

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of cost savings from combining district and county councils into a single tier.

Baroness Hanham: We have made no estimate of the cost savings arising from creating a single-tier of local government in the remaining 27 two-tier areas of England. Indeed, Ministers believe unitary restructuring to be an expensive and unnecessary distraction. Stopping the unitary restructuring in Devon and Norfolk has saved taxpayers £40 million.

Localism Bill

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make provision to ensure that the diversification of service provision under the Localism Bill is carried out in ways which do not reduce the scope of protection given by the Human Rights Act 1998 and the public sector equality duty under the Equality Act 2010.

Baroness Hanham: The community right to challenge in the Localism Bill will contribute to the diversification of service provision. The right enables voluntary and community bodies, parish councils and local authority employees to express an interest in running a local authority service, which may trigger a procurement exercise for the service. Where this is the case, as with services that are already contracted out, local authorities will need to ensure they comply with their existing obligations under human rights and equalities legislation.

Migration

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 29 November (WA 411), whether they will ask the Migration Advisory Committee to review the issue of tier two points-based system work permit visas to medical practitioners from non-European Economic Area countries; and how many such work permits were issued last year.

Baroness Neville-Jones: We have no plans to ask the Migration Advisory Committee to review tier 2 provision for medical practitioners.
	In 2010, 2,366 tier 2 applicants were sponsored to work as medical practitioners, of whom 1,174 were visa applicants and 1,192 were in-country applicants.

Migration

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government which recommendations of the Migration Advisory Committee they have rejected or not agreed since 11 May 2010.

Baroness Neville-Jones: The Government have not rejected outright any recommendations made by the Migration Advisory Committee since 11 May 2010.
	In its report, Limits on Tier 1 and Tier 2 for 2011-12 and Supporting Policies, the committee put forward a series of possible options for operating the limit. The report emphasised the importance of identifying and attracting those migrants who have the most to contribute to the UK. The Government's policies are designed with that objective in mind, but the operation of our limit will differ in detail from some of the options set out by the committee, having been adapted in line with the findings of the Government's own consultation on limits.

Police: Funding

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what monies from (a) the Home Office, and (b) police authorities, have been allocated to the Association of Chief Police Officers in each of the past five financial years.

Baroness Neville-Jones: In addition to an annual grant-in-aid payment, the Home Office makes regular payments to the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) to fund a number of specific projects or in support of key initiatives. The table below shows the amount of money that the Home Office and police authorities have allocated to ACPO in the past five financial years.
	
		
			  Financial Year 
			  2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			  £ £ £ £ £ 
			 Home Office Grant in Aid 836,232 836,232 836,232 836,232 823,688 
			 Home Office project funding 15,735,245 23,421,993 17,967,843 19,301,340 Full total not yet available 
			 Police Authorities 850,000 850,000 850,000 850,000 850,000 
		
	
	ACPO, as a private limited company, receives income from other activities which it undertakes as a private company, the details of which can be requested from ACPO itself.

Police: Grants

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial assistance in setting up payments or grant aid was paid in each of the past three years to (a) Dyfedd Powis, (b) South Wales, and (c) Gwent, constabularies and (d) all county councils within their areas of operation for the setting up of, or assistance to, Partnerships and Communities Together schemes and panels and the appointment of neighbourhood crime and justice co-ordinators in those areas; and whether they will place copies of the accounts in the Library of the House.

Baroness Neville-Jones: The Home Office has provided the following funding to areas in Wales for neighbourhood crime and justice co-ordinators over the past three years.
	
		
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 City and County of Swansea £23,654.00 £25,322.00 £0 claimed so far (up to £50,000 available) 
			 Cardiff County Council £2,407.41 £56,633.00 £0 claimed so far (up to £50,000 available) 
			 Caerphilly County Borough Council £25,000.00 £60,000.00 £25,000.00 claimed so far (up to £50,000 available) 
			 Newport County Borough Council £37,413.83 £60,000.00 £20,000.00 claimed so far (up to £50,000 available 
		
	
	Information relating to the Neighbourhood Crime and Justice initiative is included in the Home Office Resource accounts which are placed in the House Library.
	The Home Office does not provide any specific funding for setting up or assistance to Partnerships and Communities Together schemes and panels. It is the responsibility of the police and their partners to put in place their own arrangements for engaging local communities.

Police: Protest Groups

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance or regulations govern the police use of undercover agents joining protest groups.

Baroness Neville-Jones: The use of police undercover agents is governed by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) as well as police internal guidance. The Home Office publishes codes of practice on how practitioners in public authorities should apply RIPA. In addition, the independent Office of Surveillance Commissioners, who inspect and oversee use of RIPA, and the National Policing Improvement Agency, also provide advice and guidance.

Police: Ringmaster Service

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial assistance is allocated by the Home Office for the operation, administration and equipment to provide the Ringmaster service for notifications to residents and other interested parties in the South Wales constabulary area in (a) east Cardiff, and (b) west Cardiff; and whether they will investigate why the service provided by the South Wales constabulary has not operated for the past 12 months.

Baroness Neville-Jones: The Home Office has not allocated financial assistance to provide the Ringmaster service in the South Wales constabulary area. The local allocation of resources is a matter for the chief constable and police authority, who are responsible for assessing local needs.

Prisoners: Voting

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimates they have made of the number of prisoners on remand exercising their ability to vote in local, parliamentary and European parliamentary elections.

Lord McNally: The Government have made no such estimates. Data on whether individuals on remand cast postal or proxy votes are not collected centrally.

Religious Intolerance

Lord Elton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they consider it their responsibility to oppose the admission to the European Union of countries in which there is significant and persistent discrimination on religious grounds, in particular against Christians.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The UK is a strong supporter of EU enlargement and is committed to ensuring that aspirant countries join the EU only when they have met the relevant criteria. In order to open accession negotiations, a country must meet the political criterion of the Copenhagen Criteria; ie stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities, including freedom of religion for all individuals and groups. If a country was considered not to have met the political criterion it would not be able to open accession negotiations until it had implemented the necessary reforms.

Turkey

Lord Elton: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Howell of Guildford on 10 January (WA 400 and 415), why they do not make representations concerning the interests of Christians resident in Turkey to the Government of Turkey, whilst they do make such representations regarding the interests of Christians in Iraq to the Government of Iraq.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The Government raise the need to promote freedom of religion and belief in our wider discussions on human rights with the Government of Turkey. We believe this approach is more constructive in encouraging the Turkish authorities to make necessary reforms. We also raise specific cases with the Turkish authorities where their resolution would have implications for the wider situation regarding freedom of religion.
	As part of its EU accession process, Turkey has committed to an extensive reform programme, which will bring it in line with EU norms and standards across the broad spectrum of human rights issues, including religious freedoms. We strongly support this process. The European Commission makes a general assessment of human rights issues in its annual progress report, which is scrutinised by member states and discussed at the December General Affairs Council.
	The UK condemns all instances where individuals are persecuted because of their faith or belief. The current situation in Iraq has prompted the British Government to make direct representations to the Government of Iraq, but more generally we continue to urge the Iraqi Government to protect all their citizens.
	The UK continues to promote freedom of religion or belief in its bilateral relations around the world.

Turkey-Armenia Relations

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have proposals for mediation or conciliation to help normalise relations between Turkey and Armenia.

Lord Howell of Guildford: We continue to encourage the normalisation of relations between Turkey and Armenia. My right honourable friend the Minister for Europe raised normalisation of relations with Armenia with the Turkish Foreign Minister during his visit to Turkey on 22-23 October 2010. He also discussed the issue with the Armenian Foreign Minister during the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe Informal Ministerial Meeting in Almaty on 16 and 17 July 2010. We have funded a number of projects designed to build dialogue between civil society groups. Reinstating diplomatic relations will be beneficial for both countries as well as the wider region.

Visas

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Jones on 17 January (WA 115-6), why the number of grants of extension of leave to remain in the United Kingdom for students increased from 104,500 from Q3 2008 to Q2 2009 to 112,750 from Q3 2009 to Q2 2010; what are the main reasons for non-European Economic Area students applying for extensions of leave to remain; and for how long and how often such leave can be extended.

Baroness Neville-Jones: The rising numbers of grants of extensions of leave to remain are due to the fact that more applicants applied who met the provisions of tier 4 of the points-based system. The main reason for non-European Economic Area students applying for extensions of leave to remain is to undertake a further course of study; other reasons include changes of sponsor or extensions for re-sitting exams.
	At present, a student can spend a maximum of three years studying courses below degree level under tier 4, but there is currently no limit on the amount of time a student can spend studying courses at or above degree level. On 7 December the Government launched a public consultation on reform of the student immigration system; copies are available in the House Library.

Women: Employment

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a quota for the number of women in top company jobs.

Baroness Wilcox: Lord Davies of Abersoch is currently conducting a review which will identify the obstacles to women becoming directors of listed companies in the UK and propose actions which might be taken to improve the position. The Government will respond to his review in due course.

Young People: Employment

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to create more jobs for young people.

Baroness Wilcox: We are committed to cutting the deficit and creating the conditions for sustainable private sector growth, upon which the creation of new jobs for both young and older adults depends.
	Our plans to promote private sector growth were set out last November in The path to strong, sustainable and balanced growth.
	In addition, we will help young people to make a successful transition into work through pre-employment training for those on active benefits and an expanded apprenticeships programme. The Government's new Work Programme will also provide young people with personalised support and training to help them into sustainable employment.